German colonial empire
In 1839, a private group founded the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants to Texas. This organization sought to establish a colony called New Germany in North America. About 7400 settlers participated in this venture. The project failed completely due to constant lack of supplies and land. Around half of the colonists died during the attempt. The plan ended definitively when the United States annexed Texas in 1845.
German trading houses operated as independent colonizers before state involvement. The Hanseatic republics of Hamburg and Bremen sent traders across the globe. These merchants concluded treaties and purchased land with African chiefs or Pacific tribal leaders. Their early agreements later formed the basis for government annexation treaties. However, until unification in 1871, German states did not concentrate on developing a navy. Without a blue-water navy, no colonial power could reliably defend overseas dependencies. The states retained separate political structures and goals throughout the mid-nineteenth century.
Otto von Bismarck stated repeatedly that he was no man for colonies. He opposed any state-sponsored efforts to establish overseas territories until 1884. His skepticism stemmed from perceived non-profitability and incompatibility with his balance-of-power foreign policy approach. In 1868, Bismarck made his opposition clear in a letter to Prussian Minister of War Albrecht von Roon. He preferred informal commercial imperialism where companies traded without occupying territory.
The shift began in 1883 when Adolph Lüderitz contacted the Foreign Office regarding a trade station south of Walvis Bay. Hamburg bulkgoods trader Adolf Woermann engaged in confidential negotiations for a West African colony. A secret request from the Chamber of Commerce to Bismarck arrived on the 6th of July 1883. It argued that German trade needed political protection to thrive. Gustav Nachtigal became Imperial Commissioner for the West African Coast in March 1884. He set sail for Africa in the gunboat SMS Moltke. By 1885, Germany had acquired protectorates including South West Africa, East Africa, Cameroon, and Togoland.
In April 1884, Adolf Lüderitz's trading post in Lüderitz Bay came under German Empire protection. This area became known as German South West Africa. July 1884 saw the acquisition of Togoland and possessions in Cameroon. The northeastern section of New Guinea was named Kaiser-Wilhelmsland. Carl Peters accumulated vast tracts of land for his Society for German Colonization in early 1885. His expeditions emerged from the bush with X-marks affixed by unlettered tribal chiefs on documents.
Brutality prevailed during these land-grab expeditions under Peters control. Hanging and flogging were common practices since no one held a monopoly in mistreatment of Africans. In April 1885, brothers Clemens and Gustav Denhardt acquired Wituland in modern Kenya. The raising of German flags on Pacific islands claimed by Spain between August and October 1885 sparked the Carolines Crisis. Germany ultimately backed down from that conflict. In October 1886, several Solomon Islands were claimed. By 1890, Bismarck had ended colonial acquisitions to maintain good relations with Great Britain.
Kaiser Wilhelm II sought a place in the Sun for Germany after 1890. Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow stated this policy entailed possession of colonies and rights to influence other colonial matters. On the 1st of November 1897, two German missionaries from the Society of the Divine Word were murdered in the Juye Incident. Kaiser Wilhelm dispatched the East Asia Squadron to occupy Jiaozhou Bay and its chief port Qingdao. This became the Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory within 50 km of Jiaozhou Bay.
Germany received mining and railway concessions in Shandong province through these actions. The German-Spanish Treaty of 1899 transferred the Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands, and Palau for 17 million gold marks. The Tripartite Convention of 1899 made the west part of Samoan islands a German protectorate. Control of existing colonies extended inland when kingdoms of Burundi and Rwanda joined German East Africa. From 1891, German efforts encountered sharp resistance during the Bafut Wars in Cameroon. The conflict with the Hehe people in East Africa also began that year.
In 1904, the revolt of the Herero and Nama escalated into open warfare against German forces. Lieutenant-general Lothar von Trotha defeated Herero forces at the Battle of Waterberg in August 1904. Von Trotha issued an extermination order under which surviving Herero were driven into the wilderness. Around 1800 survivors reached British Bechuanaland by November 1904. Thousands more fled to northern parts of South West Africa and into the desert. By 1908, around half of the estimated 50,000 Herero population had died.
The Nama suffered 10,000 deaths, representing about half their population. They fought on the German side until the end of 1904. This event marked the first genocide of the twentieth century. The Maji-Maji rebellion broke out in German East Africa in 1905/6. Its suppression led to an estimated 100,000 native deaths from famine resulting from scorched earth tactics. Through conscious strategy, Germans destroyed villages and prevented economic activity. They withheld protection against wild animals to force populations into inhospitable regions where many starved.
Bernhard Dernburg became head of the Colonial Department in September 1906. He retained the role as Secretary of State until 1910. Entrenched incompetents were screened out and removed from office. Some officials even stood trial for misconduct. A new breed of efficient colonial civil servants emerged from the Hamburg Colonial Institute. Every African protectorate built rail lines to the interior during this period.
Dar es Salaam evolved into the showcase city of all tropical Africa. Lomé grew into the prettiest city in western Africa. Qingdao in China was described as miniature Germany within a Chinese context. Corporal punishment was abolished under these reforms. Every colony established beginnings of public school systems with hundreds of thousands of African children enrolled. Each colony also built and staffed hospitals. Native agricultural holdings received encouragement and support through new land laws. Between 1906 and 1914, palm oil and cocoa production doubled while rubber quadrupled. Cotton exports from German East Africa increased tenfold.
In late July 1914, Britain and its allies moved against German colonies once war was declared. Togoland fell first to British and French forces on the 26th of August 1914. By 1916, Germany lost most colonies except German East Africa. General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck held out against Allied forces until the end of the war. In the Pacific, Japan declared war on Germany in 1914 and quickly seized island colonies including the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands.
Western Samoa fell without resistance to New Zealand forces. An Australian invasion of Neu-Pommern beat Germans within weeks. South African J.C. Smuts spoke of German schemes for world power during the conflict. It was at Togoland where Germans were quickly outnumbered leading to surrender. The idea took hold that colonies should not be returned after the war. German overseas Colonies began falling one by one to allied forces throughout 1914 and 1915.
The Treaty of Versailles concluded World War I with Article 22 transforming German colonies into League of Nations mandates. These territories divided between Belgium, United Kingdom, France, and Japan. Article 119 secured guarantee that none would return to Germany. In Africa, United Kingdom and France divided Kamerun and Togoland. Belgium gained Ruanda-Urundi from northwestern German East Africa. The United Kingdom obtained parts of Cameroon and other territories.
Talk of regaining colonies persisted in Germany until 1943 but never became official government goal. Each colony became a mandate under administration though not sovereignty of Allied powers. The balance sheet for colonies as whole revealed fiscal net loss for Germany before collapse. Only Togoland and German Samoa had been profitable and self-sufficient prior to war. Despite economic growth between 1906 and 1914, total trade increased from 72 million marks to 264 million marks. By 1914 only New Guinea, Kiautschou, and Schutztruppen remained subsidized.
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Common questions
When did the German colonial empire begin and end?
The German colonial empire began in 1884 when Otto von Bismarck shifted from opposition to state-sponsored colonization. The empire ended definitively by 1920 after World War I, with colonies transferred as League of Nations mandates under Article 22 of the Treaty of Versailles.
Who founded the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants to Texas?
A private group founded the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants to Texas in 1839. This organization attempted to establish a colony called New Germany but failed completely due to constant lack of supplies and land.
What happened during the Herero and Nama genocide in 1904?
Lieutenant-general Lothar von Trotha defeated Herero forces at the Battle of Waterberg in August 1904 and issued an extermination order. By 1908, around half of the estimated 50,000 Herero population had died, while the Nama suffered 10,000 deaths representing about half their population.
Which territories were acquired by Germany between 1884 and 1885?
Germany acquired protectorates including South West Africa, East Africa, Cameroon, and Togoland by 1885. The northeastern section of New Guinea was named Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, and Adolf Lüderitz's trading post became known as German South West Africa.
How did World War I affect German colonies?
In late July 1914, Britain and its allies moved against German colonies once war was declared. Japan seized island colonies including the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands, while other territories fell to Allied forces throughout 1914 and 1915.